The prevalence of portable electronic devices has increased in recent years. Also, the performance capabilities of portable electronic devices have increased in recent years. For example, more powerful processors, improved wireless radios, increased memory capacities, and other increases in performance have been realized in portable electronic devices. Accordingly, the number and variety of tasks that can be performed with portable electronic devices has also increased.
Additionally, portable electronic devices having different form factors have been proposed. For example, a number of tablet devices have been proposed that may present advantages over smaller handheld electronic devices (such as smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc.). For instance, tablets often make use of larger displays than handheld electronic devices. In this regard, tablets may present a larger display area that may facilitate added features (e.g., more robust graphical user interfaces may be developed for use with tablet devices). Additionally, because the overall size of tablet devices is often larger than handheld electronic devices, larger, more powerful batteries may be provided that have longer battery life than batteries of handheld electronic devices. As such, tablet devices may be able to operate for longer durations than handheld electronic devices.
However, tablets may also suffer from a number of drawbacks when compared to handheld electronic devices. For example, tablets, while potentially more convenient than many laptop or desktop computers, may not demonstrate the same convenience of handheld electronic devices. Additionally, in many cases, handheld electronic devices may be used as telephones or include wireless radios that enable communication with a cellular network (e.g., including both voice and data network capabilities). While some tablets include some form of wireless radio (e.g., 802.11, Bluetooth, etc.), many do not include wireless radios for communication with a cellular network. Those tablets that do include cellular radios often require an additional arrangement (e.g., an additional contract or a unique SIM card) with a service provider in order to utilize the cellular network with the tablet device.
Users often employ both tablet and handheld devices. For example, which device a user employs may depend upon the specific context of use. In this regard, a user may desire continuity of data across the devices employed. However, the ability to provide continuity of data across the multiple devices may be burdensome. For example, an individual may begin a task utilizing a handheld electronic device and wish to continue the task utilizing another device (e.g., a tablet device). However, the ability to transition performance of the task from the handheld electronic device to the tablet device may prove difficult. Some proposed solutions include, for example, cloud computing, server-based solutions, and other means of synching data across multiple devices. However, these proposed solutions often require costly subscriptions or complicated hardware setups to accomplish such services. Furthermore, the continuity of the task being performed may be interrupted (e.g., requiring the progress of the task to be saved and reopened on the other device) as opposed to “on the fly” changes of devices. As such, these solutions often present a large cost burden, may introduce security concerns regarding sensitive data, and may interrupt the continuity of tasks performed using the devices.